US WR Grace to stop making silica-sol-based FCC catalysts

HOUSTON (ICIS)--WR Grace will stop making silica-sol-based fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts at its plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the US-based company said on Friday.

The plant has a capacity of 35,000 tonnes/year, WR Grace said. Production will cease in the third quarter.

“We believe the silica-sol-catalyst technology has reached the end of its lifecycle,” said Shawn Abrams, president of Grace Catalysts Technologies. “Other technologies in our portfolio are meeting the demands of modern-day refiners far more effectively.”